Eating Disorder Awareness Week - What To Do If I Am Concerned About My Childs Eating Behaviour?

Mary_Scope

Eating Disorder Awareness Week - Part One

Eating Disorder Awareness Week - Part Two

As we wrap up this weeks focus, this post is about the steps you can take if you feel like your child has an eating disorder or if you are concerned by your childs eating behaviours. This post also includes where you can find for additional support for you as parents.

Talk To Your Child
Even though discussing eating concerns with your disabled child might feel challenging, it's a really important conversation to have if possible.

Create a calm and safe space and consider their communication style.

Tailor your approach to your child’s needs. For example, some children might find it easier to talk while engaged in a calming sensory activity, understand better with visual aids or simple language.

It is really important that your child doesn't feel judged and to avoid language that could be interpreted as harsh and dismissive. If your child finds it difficult to talk to you then encourage them to talk to somebody they trust such as a family member, teacher or GP.

Reach Out For Professional Medical Support
If you think your child has an eating disorder then it is very important you go contact your GP as this is the first step to accessing help and support.

The more honest and specific you can be about your child’s behaviour around food and eating, then the easier it will be to get the right help. If your child wants to go by themselves, then encourage them to be as open and honest with the GP as possible.

The GP can make a referral for a specialist assessment. This can be through

Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), local mental health service or a specialist eating disorder unit.

Professionals working in one of these teams will have a chat to your child to find out what the problem is. They will then decide what kind of treatment will help.

Early intervention is really important.

Additional Support For You As Parents
BEAT
BEAT is the largest organisation in the UK for eating disorders and they offer lots of support for parents and carers such as a helpline, support groups and an elearning platform to connect with other parents and carers.

Young Minds
Young Minds are a charity that focuses on the mental health of children and young people. They have a helpline and webchat that offer specific information, advice and support to parents and carers who are concerned about their child or young person’s mental health.

Charlie Waller Trust
Charlie Waller Trust is a mental health charity and they are also free eating disorder workshops for parents and carers of children with eating disorders throughout the year.

If you've had concerns about your child's eating, what advice would you like to share with other parents experiencing similar worries?

What would you like to see over the next few weeks for the focus on the family side of the online community?